Vent structure for pipe line conveyers



Filed Sept. 28, 19:58

Patented Dec. 24, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE VENT STRUCTURE FOR PIPE LINE CONVEYERS 1 Claim.

In the use of pipe line conveyers for removal of ashes and the like, it is customary to deliver the ashes by way of said conveyer to a receiving tank, from which the ashes may subsequently be Withdrawn for removal as required. In an installation of this character, it is necessary to provide a suitable vent for the tank, through which may escape the fluid employed in actuating said conveyer. In the absence of some provision to the contrary, quantities of fine particles such as fly ash and dust are apt to be discharged from the vent with the exhaust of the fluid which has passed to the tank through the pipe line.

Heretofore it has been customary, in order to alleviate the dust nuisance from this source, to provide mechanical separators which were calculated to separate the dust particles from the air or steam passing from the tank before the latter reached the atmosphere. It has also been proposed to employ for this same purpose sprays of water applied in diverse locations, but in every instance all or a part of the liquid spray, to-

gether with the condensed particles of dust and dirt, were returned to the receiving tank, where the moisture thus introduced tended to cause packing or freezing of the material in the tank.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide novel and improved means for freeing the exhaust of the fiy ash, dust particles and the like prior to the passing of said exhaust from the vent to the atmosphere, and to employ a liquid spray for this purpose in such manner that none of the excluded particles, or moisture from the spray, shall pass into the tank proper, but shall be carried through a separate discharge to a suitable drain.

More specifically, an object of the invention is I to provide a novel vent structure for use in conjunctionwithapparatus of the character described which shall provide for effective removal of the solid particles-41y ash and the likefrom the exhausted air or steam in a manner precluding entry of the moisture or removed particles into the tank.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the stated character which will function in a manner to reduce or relieve back-pressure within the receiving tank through condensation of all or part of the exhaust steam that may pass through the vent. This is a distinct advantage to pneumatic conveyers that employ steam as the fluid to induce a flow of air through the pipe line for the conveying of ashes or other solids.

The invention further resides in certain details of construction hereinafter described and illustrated in the attached drawing, wherein:

Figure 1 is a front elevational and partial sectional View of a pipe line vent structure made in accordance With my invention, and

Fig. 2 is a side elevational and partial sectional view of the vent structure.

With reference to the drawing, I indicates the top or roof portion of a receiving tank, said tank having an opening which communicates with the terminal end or baille box 2 of a pipe line conveyer, the contiguous end of the conveyer being designated by the reference numeral 3. From the top of the baflie box 2 a vent pipe 4 extends upwardly, the upper end 5 of the vent pipe being offset transversely from the lower end by means of a bend or elbow section 6. The elbow or offset 6 comprises a fitting I, in the upper side 8 of which, namely, the side of smaller radius, is inserted a spray nozzle 9 which may be connected by a pipe II to a suitable source of water supply. At the opposite side, i. e., the side of greater radius, the fitting I is provided with a pouch or pocket I2, and this pouch, as shown in Fig. 1, extends upwardly at each side of the fitting toward the nozzle 9, as indicated at I3, I3, Fig. 1. The pouch I2 is of greatest width and depth at the under side of the fitting I, and converges at each side toward the top of the fitting and toward the nozzle.

As best shown in Fig. 2, the depending portion of the pouch I2 is provided with a bracket extension I4 which seats upon a pedestal I5 to form a solid support for the fitting I, and the upper portion of the vent duct, upon the top of the tank I. The bottom of the pouch I2 is provided with a discharge port I6 which colmnunicates with a pipe I'I extending downwardly to a suitable drain.

The nozzle 9 is of a character to project a flat fan-like spray of water which conforms to the cross sectional contour of the radially enlarged portion I2 of the fitting l, and which, therefore, intersects substantially the entire transverse area of the vent duct. The spray thus forms across the vent duct a screen of water which either by direct contactor capillary attraction entrains and removes the dust particles and other solids from the air or steam exhausting through the vent. In order to ascertain the exact position of the plane of the flat or fan spray, I provide inspection holes III, III at opposite sides of the pouch I2 which are normally closed by screw plugs. By use of these holes the spray can be located so that all of the spray water will be confined to the pouch and will thereby pass to the drain. Where the pipe conveyer is actuated by steam, the exhausting steam passing through the vent duct is condensed by the spray of water, with the result that a partial vacuum is created which aids the draft action of the vent to the benefit of the operation of the conveyer. The Water forming the spray intersecting the duct is collected in toto in the pouch l2, and with the entrained solid particles and dust passes from the vent duct to the drain through the discharge pipe I! leading from the bottom of the pouch. Thus none of the Water or the moist particles deposited by the spray from the exhaust is permitted to pass into the tank, and cannot, therefore, act to adversely affect the natural gravity flow of the ash from the tank through the discharge ports in the latter provided for that purpose.

It is apparent that the device per se would be entirely operative in a vent disassociated from the conveyerand located at a point on the tank remote to the terminal end or baffle box of the pipe line. Where steam is employed, however, as the motivating fluid for the pipe line' conveyer, it is preferred to extend the vent from the conveyer baffle-box proper, as illustrated in the drawing, as with this arrangement, the exhaust steam passes out of the bafiie-box directly,

instead of possibly condensing against the roof or other parts of the tank should the vent be connected at any other position to the tank.

It will be apparent that there may be substantial modification in the structural form and details of the device without departure from the principle of the invention as defined in the appended claim.

I claim:

In a vent structure for the receiving tanks of pipe line conveyers, an upright tubular duct comprising a unitary offset fitting, said fitting being in part radially enlarged so as to form in the interior a substantially annular circumferential pocket disposed diagonally to the vertical and increasing in depth at the under side of the fitting to form 2. depending pouch, a spray nozzle mounted in the wall of said fitting at the top of said pocket and adapted to project a spray across the pocket and into the pouch, said spray being fan-like in character so as to conform to the circumferential contour of said pocket and to embrace the entire cross sectional area of the duct, drainage means in the bottom of said pouch, and a bracket on the under side of said pouch for connection with a support for the upper offset portion of the duct.

EUGENE HAHN. 

